The present invention relates to labeling devices, and, more specifically, to labeling devices that are used in connection with electronic printing devices.
In certain devices or equipment, such as airplanes, boats, computer networks or equipment that contains many wires, cables, or other items that may either get easily tangled or confused with other similar items, it is necessary to label the wires, cables or groups of cables of wires. Tags and marker assemblies have been designed to form labels for such uses. Heat shrink technology has been employed in making these markers and tags thereby permitting easy installation. Once applied, the labels are difficult to remove.
Generally, a carrier strip of material containing a plurality of markers is fed through a machine, whereby the markers will pass through a printing station for imprinting images onto each marker. Previous designs for carrying out the process utilize carrier strips that are bulky and not adapted for use in different types of printers. Such carriers tend to be stiff, which may cause the images printed on the markers to be distorted. Further, the stiff material may not be easily moved through the printer, since the carrier may have to negotiate curves or bends within the assembly.
Likewise, stiffer material is generally more expensive to produce and may need to be wider than necessary so that there is a sufficient area to move and rotate the carrier. For instance, many current carrier strip designs are track driven or use pin feeds for the carriers' movement. This may require a wider strip, which also adds to the cost of the material needed for producing the carrier strips.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,456 to Bulgrin, et. al., discloses a label assembly where the labels carried by the carrier strip are integral with the carrier strip. A die cutting process that also cuts away portions of the carrier strip defines the labels. Tack points remain in the die cutting process to keep the labels connected to the carrier strip. The carrier strip is relatively thick and stiff and may not be easily fed through certain printers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,895 to Vlamings et al., discloses a marker sleeve assembly wherein the labels are attached and adhered to a stiff, relatively thick carrier strip by placing the labels between the edges of two layers material. The labels are attached to the inner edge of the carrier strip and care must be taken to properly align the labels with the carrier strip. For instance, the labels must be positioned properly so that they are not too close or too far away from the carrier strip so that the labels will properly fit within a printing assembly and, also, that they are not positioned too close together for proper printing. This is especially true for a pin feed-type drive, where registration is based on the pin feed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,462 to Erwin et al. discloses a wire label with carrier wherein the labels are attached and adhered to a carrier strip by an adhesive layer applied to the backing layer and an overlaying adhesive tape. The ends of the labels are positioned between the adhesive layer and the adhesive tape. While this arrangement does provide support for the labels during printing, the arrangement may induce excess adherence of the label ends to the backing layer and thereby hampers facile removal of the printed labels from the backing layer.
A new carrier strip for a printing assembly is desired that will provide the needed support for the labels, while providing a high degree of flexibility for the carrier strip for use in printing machines. The carrier strip should also allow the labels to be adjoined to the carrier strip in an efficient and relatively straightforward registration process, while further allowing easy removal therefrom for use.